Jeske L, Kolmer V, Muth M, et al. Partnering with patients and families in designing visual cues to prevent falls in hospitalized elders. J Nurs Care Qual. 2006 (Jul/Sep); 21(3):236-241.

Prevention of falls in hospitalized elderly is critical to avoid injury and maintain independence. As part of a comprehensive program, nursing staff in a medical telemetry unit partnered with patients and their families to design and implement an educational poster to prevent falls. Ongoing patient/family feedback was used to modify the poster until it was appealing and effective for patients. The effort resulted in a marked decrease in falls on the unit over the pilot period.